Saying Goodbye
by Oparu
Summary: AU for The Long Goodbye. Phebus and Thalen were telling the truth and all they wanted was a chance to be together one last time.


John shuffled closer to the escape pod, feeling his hands start to sweat as Elizabeth stared at him. Was it Elizabeth? She wasn't smiling the way Elizabeth did. She was blushing slightly, her face was rosier and her lips were wet. It was going to hurt, he reminded himself as the light flashed and blinded him. 

"Give him a moment," Phebus insisted in the voice that was supposed to be Elizabeth's.

Thalen's mind was soft, but the process pushed John forcefully to the side. After a sharp intake of breath, Thalen had his body. His hands were moving without him. The first contact John had with the mind that invaded him was an apology. Thalen was sorry for his confusion. The scientist was frightened. The last thing he remembered was running from the Wraith as his ship disintegrated around him.

For a long moment, both men shared their memories in flashes. John shared Thalen's wedding and his graduation from the science academy on some kind of military base. Thalen flashed through John's divorce and his near court martial. Both of them agreed that being in space was preferable to being trapped planetside.

John was staring at Elizabeth, but he felt different. She was a stranger to Thalen, and no matter how John's body responded with familiarity, the scientist was apprehensive.

"Thalen?" Phebus asked waiting with emotion John couldn't read in the face that should be Elizabeth's. Elizabeth had been excited for her occupant but John couldn't quite feel the same way.

"It's me," Phebus continued, her voice nearly shaking with excitement.

"Phebus?" Thalen asked shyly getting used to John's voice and watching as Phebus smiled.

"It's all right," she assured him. "These people recovered our pods."

John tried to calm himself. It was weird, just watching and being unable to move anything. He felt like he was living a movie or something equally odd from a late night on the Sci-fi channel. He looked for Elizabeth as Thalen directed his eyes. Was she in there? It wasn't her in her eyes but she had to be somewhere. Could she see him? Was Elizabeth looking for him?

Carson waved and John started to laugh. The sound echoed in his mind but none of it escaped his lips. Thalen was confused by John's amusement but he was nearly overwhelmed by love for his wife.

John had been in love once, when he was young and being in love seemed like the best thing in the world. That feeling had pounded through him like an electric shock and left him full of tingles.

Thalen's emotional response was entirely different. His heart was full, bursting in his chest as he let himself realize that it was his wife standing across from him. The woman he loved was there, trapped in that unfamiliar body, but there regardless. Thalen wasn't hit by love, as John had been, he was consumed by it.

"These generous people have allowed us to be together one last time," Phebus explained as she approached him.

Thalen's hands were sweating worse than John's had been and John felt his stomach knot up. John's stomach never knotted up.

"You consented to this?" Thalen asked in surprise. His voice was colder than John's and his mind was more ordered. He was already studying his saviors, trying to decide what kind of people they were.

"One last chance to say goodbye to my husband," Phebus reminded him intensely.

Elizabeth had that intensity inside of her and John realized it was no wonder she'd seemed off in the infirmary. Emotion was difficult for her so she tried to push it aside as much as possible. He knew it because he recognized the trait. Elizabeth was probably just as lost as he was. Marriage, that permanent togetherness and melding of lives, was something she'd lost too.

Phebus' hands grabbed the back of his head and suddenly he was kissing Elizabeth. Well, Phebus was kissing Thalen and he and Elizabeth were along for the ride. Elizabeth's tongue was insistent in his mouth and her lips were hungry. Her body was pressed against his and John could feel himself starting to harden in his BDUs.

This was wrong. Caldwell was looking away as if Elizabeth had suddenly turned green. Carson's face was melting in empathy and Rodney made a sound. It was a cute, girly sound John was going to have to tease him for.

Elizabeth's thumb was on the back of his ear. Elizabeth's lips were sucking on his and all he could do was watch and taste her as she pulled away.

He wanted her. Thalen wanted her. Phebus had nearly knocked him to the floor and taken both of them by surprise. John wondered what Elizabeth felt. If she was caught up in the insatiable lust that washed through him.

Phebus was about to die and all she wanted was to be with her husband.

Thalen found that so arousing that John had to remind them both that they had to at least wait to get out of the science lab.

They were desperate, both overwhelmed with grief they couldn't even give themselves time for. Two lives and all the dreams that came with it had to be condensed into one night on an alien city.

"It's not what I expected," Thalen offered as Phebus pulled away. He would have been content to talk. Phebus was the one who wanted to go out with a bang.

"I know this body is different," Phebus explained as she looked down at Elizabeth's form. "But I assure you Thalen, it's me." She inclined her head towards the others. "Is it possible for us to be alone?"

John felt his heart leap into his throat. Thalen was already reaching for Phebus' hand and holding it like it was part of him. His body was going along for the ride. His body already liked the idea. Never mind the fact that Elizabeth was gorgeous and that he'd spent more than a few nights contemplating the better parts of her figure, she was his friend.

She was his boss.

"Absolutely not," Caldwell decided immediately.

"Don't be so heartless," Carson urged gently and John realized it was entirely possible that Carson would talk Caldwell into letting them be alone. Alone with Elizabeth and two people who couldn't wait to get naked and get their married hands all over each other.

"They're two consenting adults," Rodney added suddenly and John realized Rodney was a romantic at heart.

John wasn't sure if he should be allowed to consent. Thalen's emotions were clouding his judgement. When he thought about Elizabeth's hand squeezing his, he almost thought he loved her.

Phebus dropped her head and when Elizabeth's head came back up she was herself again. "I think we should move this discussion to the conference room. Phebus and Thalen don't have any time to waste."

"Do I need to remind you, you've been compromised?" Caldwell warned as he stared her down.

"You can bring the guards," Elizabeth sighed and realized she was still holding Thalen's hand.

When the scientist felt her eyes on him, he dropped it sadly. "My apologies, ma'am," he intoned softly intrigued by the changed face and disposition.

"I'm Elizabeth Weir," she introduced herself with a slight smile.

"John knew that," Thalen replied as he followed her down the corridors of the city.

"Is he all right?" Elizabeth asked curiously searching for a hint of something in the face she should have known.

John assured Thalen he was and he didn't need to reassert himself. The scientist allowed him to take control anyway and he shuddered back into his body. John jerked and wondered if this was going to give him a hangover.

"Hey," he began awkwardly as he sank into a chair beside Elizabeth with a armed guard behind him.

"Didn't know you could kiss like that," Elizabeth teased him as she pulled her chair up to the table.

"I'm a little out of practice," John drawled as he felt Thalen's amusement rise beneath him. Thalen knew, John realized suddenly. Every hidden thought he'd carried about Elizabeth was wide open before the alien.

Thalen reminded him he understood.

"I don't see the harm in giving them a few hours alone," Carson insisted as he stared Caldwell down. "As Rodney said, John and Elizabeth and their occupants are adults, if the four of them can come to an agreement--"

"You can't be considering..." Caldwell started as he looked over to Elizabeth.

All she did was clear her throat and John realized that she had made her choice. She would convince Caldwell and he'd be seeing Elizabeth naked. John decided not to let his mind dwell on the other senses experiencing Elizabeth naked as well.

* * *

"Both of your occupants are fading already," Carson explained as he double checked the results of their EKGs. "I'd say they'll be gone overnight."

Elizabeth nodded and swallowed. She was fidgeting with the hem of her shirt and John realized she was just as nervous as he was.

"As long as you're both sure you're okay with this..." he paused and checked their faces.

John nodded dumbly. Thalen would understand if he said no but the rush of disappointment the dying man couldn't hide wasn't something John wanted to live with. After all, it wasn't as if Elizabeth wasn't attractive. It wasn't like he was being asked to sleep with Rodney. Or even kiss him, as Carson had. This was an unselfish act. He was doing Thalen a favor. He wanted to believe that he wasn't doing this because it was Elizabeth. That he'd still be willing if it was Teyla or another woman on the expedition team.

"You two have a good time," Carson patted Elizabeth's shoulder and grinned at them. "The guards will be right outside Elizabeth's quarters and I'll be on the radio if you need me."

Elizabeth stood and waited for John. He fell in step next to her and heard the guards follow them. He tried to shake the feeling that he was going to prison. Elizabeth's head dropped and Phebus was back.

"I want to thank you," Phebus offered gruffly staring at him. "I know this is not the easiest request."

Thalen agreed and John was suddenly uncomfortable between them. Thalen's emotions were raw but softening. The man inside of him could feel his own death approaching and was comforted just knowing his wife was with him. John was jealous and Thalen knew it. He knew John thought he'd die alone. He knew John's fear that the only good that would come of his life was how it would end in the service of others.

"Maybe you'd do the same for us," John replied wondering what the etiquette was for body switching.

"On our world, pods are only opened by special priests entrusted with the care of the lost," Phebus explained haughtily. "They willing give their bodies to others." Her expression softened as they came to a halt in front of Elizabeth's quarters. "You would be greatly honored on our world for the service you performing."

"On my, our world," John gestured helplessly at Elizabeth as Phebus opened the door. "We like to help."

Phebus nodded and John watched in surprise as she smiled softly before dropping her head to her chest and coming up as Elizabeth.

"I thought we might need a moment," she ventured as she stared at the bed. Elizabeth's quarters had originally had a beautiful Ancient bed, but she'd replaced it with a smaller one. She didn't want to be different or above her team.

"Yeah," John agreed as he tried not to hear his heart racing in his chest. "A moment's a good idea."

"Are you going to be all right?" she wondered as she touched his arm.

Thalen relished the contact and John realized he could feel his wife through Elizabeth's touch. For a moment, John wished he understood more about the process. Maybe if he could feel Elizabeth while the other two had sex he wouldn't feel so much like a voyeur. Maybe it was better to be a voyeur then to admit he liked the idea of having sex with Elizabeth.

He more than _liked_ the idea. He wanted to. He was looking forward to it. He was almost jealous Phebus and Thalen were going to be there because he wanted his first time with Elizabeth to not be under some kind of alien influence. Part of his mind reminded him there were second times.

"Is this going to be awkward tomorrow?" John asked as he took a step towards the bed. He sat down and started taking off his boots so Thalen wouldn't have to figure then out.

Elizabeth stared at him for a moment before realizing what he was doing. She swallowed before she met his gaze. "I hope not," she murmured optimistically. "Don't make it a thing with Rodney."

"If he leaves me alone," John warned as he started to smile. "I can close my eyes, if you want. I don't have to, you know--"

"I'm okay with you seeing me naked, John," Elizabeth interrupted as she set her boots neatly aside. "I'm sure it's not anything that will shock you."

John stopped short and stared at her, feeling rather injured that she thought he was so much of a Casanova. "It's you," he replied softly watching as surprise flickered on his face. "I respect you a great deal, Elizabeth, and no clothing or lack of clothing is going to change that."

Elizabeth licked her lips nervously and dropped her hands to her sides. "I'm glad it's you, John. I, well, I think this would be harder if it wasn't." She stared at him as if she wanted to remember his face. "See you in the morning?"

"If Carson will let me, I'll make eggs and toast," John volunteered as he forced his himself to smile confidently. "I'm pretty good at eggs."

"I can burn toast," Elizabeth admitted with a hint of a playful smile. "It sounds like a date then." She didn't give him time to answer as Phebus took over.

Thalen's impatience lent him strength and John barely had to let go before the other man had his body. John relaxed and tried to be in the moment, as Teyla had advised him. It wasn't his place to judge or feel extraneous. He was part of something he'd never get to experience in his lifetime. Something Phebus and Thalen considered sacred and he should just let go.

Phebus stripped herself of Elizabeth's red shirt and immediately started rushing out of her pants. John didn't have to think about undressing and found himself contemplating Elizabeth's small breasts beneath her simple black bra. She was thin but still curvy enough to be beautiful. He'd known she was beautiful in the back of his mind. He'd thought about her legs in boring staff meetings. He'd spent way too much time focused on the curves of her ass when he didn't feel like listening to Rodney.

Her legs were longer than they looked when she was clothed and he loved how her hips flared just slightly beneath her flat stomach. There was little to hold onto as Thalen's hands ran over her skin. John explained how to undo the clasp of her bra and it fell away from erect nipples as they dropped it to the floor.

The buttons on his pants were easy and he stood naked in front of her for a long moment as Thalen let Phebus study him. the lights in Elizabeth's quarters were on, and John could see himself in the reflection in one of her windows. The hair on his arms was standing up in the cool air and Thalen was already becoming aroused. Phebus smiled and fell to her knees in front of her husband. She kissed her way across his kneecap and pushed him back towards the bed.

Phebus ran a hand over Thalen's quickly hardening erection and teased the tip of it with her tongue. She was grinning wickedly and Thalen's hand was in her curls and it was entirely unlike Elizabeth. Somewhere in John's mind, Phebus became Elizabeth's doppelganger and the jealous part of him that couldn't stand her being with Thalen faded.

Elizabeth was just an observer. it wasn't her voice that cried out when Thalen flipped Phebus back on the bed and took her clit roughly in his mouth. She writhed beneath him and her legs brushed past his head. Thalen's fingers were inside of her and she growled as she dragged him up to devour his mouth.

John tasted her and a hint of blood as she crushed his lips. He tried not to think about how it would feel it those were Elizabeth's eyes burning into him.

Thalen flattened her small breasts with his hands and nibbled down towards her nipples. He bit the skin just beneath her breast and John wondered if Elizabeth would be as rough as Phebus was. He couldn't picture her shoving him within her as Phebus' hands guided Thalen in.

Elizabeth wouldn't ride him as she threw her head back, but Phebus ground her hips into her husband's and laughed as he playfully slapped her face. She sucked his fingers and then licked a path down his arm to his neck. When she bit into the hollow between his neck and his shoulder, John felt Thalen begin to lose control. Maybe ten thousand years was too long to hold onto one's libido, but John could feel the other man start to orgasm.

It was too quick. John shouldn't have interfered but he lent his control. He heard Phebus moan and begin to move faster above him and knew she needed more. Thalen was fading and John was starting to feel parts of his mind slipping away.

He couldn't do this. Thalen didn't have the strength left to finish what he'd started. John tried to convince him to hold on but the scientist was tired. He kissed Phebus and poured his heart into the motion. In the blending of lips and breath, Thalen said his goodbyes.

His thanks and his blissful calm in the moment of his death resonated through John's body and soul.

Then abruptly, dangerously, John was alone. He was buried in Elizabeth's body, holding her naked ass in his hands and fucking an alien. Through sheer force of will, John held back orgasm, biting the inside of his mouth and swallowing a groan of pain. It was another man's wife on top of him. A dead man's wife who desperately needed to believe that her husband spent his final moments lost in his love of her. John could explain it. He could pull away and spend the last, blisteringly painful moments of Phebus' life explaining that her husband was already gone.

Thalen wouldn't have wanted that. Hell, he didn't want that. Phebus was not his type of woman. In fact, he couldn't really see why Thalen loved her so much, but some of Thalen was left with him. John could still remember the heat of Thalen's passion.

It was still Elizabeth with him. She was in Phebus and she'd understand. When he confessed what he was about to do, Elizabeth would forgive him.

John pulled his hands up along Elizabeth's, Phebus' sides and teased her nipples. They hardened in the palms of his hands and he put aside his wonder. Phebus liked it rough. He pinched them hard and hoped he wasn't hurting Elizabeth. Phebus moaned and growled. Her teeth, Elizabeth's teeth, ran roughly down his neck and sank into the skin of his shoulder.

Phebus' hips rocked hard against him and her fingers ran hot against his arms. She dug into his flesh and hung on. Pulling out partway, she collapsed back against him and cried her ownership to the ceiling.

John wondered for an insane moment if the security guards could hear her. He'd have bruises from her hands and wounds from her teeth, but the darker side of his soul enjoyed it. He knocked her back, dropping her unceremoniously to the bed and feeling the pain of the cold air against his skin. He ached to be inside of her again, but he gritted his teeth and waited for her to pull her knees up towards her chest.

Elizabeth was dammed flexible. John thought as he found his way back inside the addictive warmth of her body. He didn't know how Thalen would have fucked his wife, but he remembered an old girlfriend from a lifetime ago who had liked to feel violated. His thumb found a tear on Elizabeth's cheek as John grabbed her face. He worried it might be hers as he forced his way deeper. Phebus was hot, tight and slick around him but Elizabeth wasn't there.

Phebus scratched the back of his neck and John surprised himself by slapping her lightly across the face. He knocked her eyes to the side for a moment and she was laughing as she rose to meet him. Phebus locked her legs around his back and pulled him deeper still. Arching against him, she shoved her chest into his face and he buried his forehead there.

He didn't like looking at her when she wasn't her. Her eyes were too cold and with Phebus inside of her, Elizabeth's body seemed harshly thin. Her face was angular and her lips were cold when she demanded his attention. John's body didn't care. His nerves were more than happy to scream when she touched him.

Phebus clung to him, shaking and muttering in a language he didn't understand. Orgasm made her desperate and all of her limbs were around him. Then she was slumped on the bed, skin red from exertion and a wicked smile playing on her lips. His fluids were on her thighs and the sheets of Elizabeth's bed.

Would Thalen kiss her? Would he pull her against him and sleep?

John's contemplation ended when she suddenly pressed herself against him and pulled him down to the narrow bed. Phebus' arms were tight around his head, and one of her long legs was against his back. Her thumb brushed his ear and he shuddered slightly as her lips followed.

"You aren't him," she murmured softly as she kissed her way down his neck. "I..." Phebus licked blood from her lips and held him. "...might not have known, but Elizabeth could tell it was you."

She sat up and rested a hand on his chest. "It's almost sweet, actually," Phebus continued to stare down at him. "I don't know if I would have bothered to make the attempt were our positions reversed." Running lazy fingers over the red marks on his skin, she tried to catch her breath. "Maybe I should have given you more respect."

Dragging his hand down her body, Phebus rubbed his fingers across her clit and sobbed in the back of her throat. Elizabeth's body was shaking slightly. She had to be painfully sensitive. Phebus' eyes rolled back in her head for a moment before they locked with John's. "She really does care...for you I mean." Grinning wickedly she took a slow breath and closed her eyes. "Even wanted you as much as I did."

* * *

Her head was pounding. Orgasm was still tingling through her extremities but her head felt like someone had left a grenade inside of it. Elizabeth's eyes focused and she saw John staring at her. Soft, hazel eyes looked up in concern and a gentle hand touched her damp hair.

"Hey," he started gently. His lips were swollen and the skin around her mouth was raw from his stubble. "Back?"

Elizabeth nodded and tried to keep her eyes on him. Parts of her quarters were spinning slightly and she couldn't stop feeling like she was shaking.

"Come here," John offered as he slid over on the bed. It was easier for him, he'd been himself longer. She'd known when he'd appeared. Elizabeth remembered the moment of hesitation and the soft familiarity of his presence.

She was sore as she let herself lie on the bed across from him. Her stomach muscles ached, her legs still felt shaky, and it was going to be worse tomorrow. There were marks on their bodies, and as she cupped her hands over her breasts, Elizabeth realized they would be sore as well. She could taste blood in her mouth but she had no way of telling who it belonged to.

His hand rested on her side and Elizabeth felt his legs brush hers as she tried to fit on the bed. The size of the bed hadn't mattered when Phebus and Thalen were in charge, but now that she was alone with John the bed seemed tiny.

It took her a moment to swallow and speak. "Does your head hurt?"

John moved his chin slightly and nodded. "Like hell," he agreed as he moved a wet lock of hair out of her eyes. "I'm going to have bruises."

Elizabeth started to move her hands away from her breasts and stopped short. John was watching her face, but he smirked when he saw her concern. "Already saw them," he teased.

She bit her lip and managed to smile. "Suppose they're all right?"

"Lovely," John drawled and ran a lazy finger along her collarbone.

Elizabeth felt herself shiver and this time it had nothing to do with the temperature of her quarters. "I think I'm going to picture you like this at staff meetings for awhile now," she murmured.

"I always picture you like this," John volunteered as he pulled the sheet up over their legs and lay back facing the ceiling. "Especially when Rodney's talking."

Giggling slightly, she studied the hair on his chest and the red lines from her nails in his skin. "Remind me not to mention that to Rodney," she replied as she touched his shoulder. John opened his arm and invited her in. Elizabeth could feel sweat drying on his skin as she lowered her head to his shoulder.

"Is Thalen still in your head?" Elizabeth wondered as she tried to decide where to put her leg.

John's hands ran over her knee and pulled it up against his thighs. He turned his head towards her and Elizabeth felt the shock as his lips brushed her forehead. "He's gone," he offered softly taking her shoulder in his hand. "I don't think he had a lot left when we pulled him from the pod."

"I can still hear her in my head," Elizabeth admitted as she let her hand wander across his chest. His heart beat slowly beneath her hand. "She's waiting to die, John."

"You okay?" he asked as he moved beneath her. When she turned, John's face was closer. He could have kissed her but he stayed back just outside of reach.

Sitting up on her elbow, Elizabeth tried to sigh the tightness out of her chest. "Can you imagine getting just enough of a reprieve from death to say goodbye to the love of your life?"

"It's a gift," John mused as he reached for her hair. Something in the way he touched her sent the a rush through her nerves. "Thalen thought it was a gift."

"She's," Elizabeth paused and stared at the walls of her quarters. "Phebus isn't quite ready to let go. She's extraordinary, John. She's been fighting her whole life and she's still fighting."

"Maybe she needs to let go," he suggested as he ran fingertips down the back of her neck. His fingers kept wandering as he grinned and traced along the fine bones of her neck. "She could have died thousands of years ago."

"Thalen must have been extraordinary as well," Elizabeth thought aloud as she turned her eyes to John's. "To make you so patient."

He wrinkled his nose and chuckled. "He loved her," John began and shook his head in awe. "Loved like I've only read about."

"Strange?"

"Kinda," John answered as his fingers found her chin. "Strange but intriguing." No one had ever played with her neck with the sincere interest he had in the muscles beneath her skin.

"Tolstoy's love stories are mostly tragedies," Elizabeth reminded him as she followed his naked arm to his shoulder with her eyes. "Phebus and Thalen aren't that tragic, are they?"

"He didn't think so," John insisted as he pulled himself up a little on the pillow. "Does she?"

Reaching for Phebus' mind only made her nervous. The woman within her was mourning her husband and her world and only a stubborn inability to face her own death was keeping her from the brink of despair. It was uncomfortable to touch her and Elizabeth jumped when Phebus reached out. In a split second, Elizabeth understood. Phebus' heart was raw and Elizabeth could feel it breaking and reforming. She'd lost her husband but Phebus knew now he was waiting for her. It didn't take away the fact that she was dying. She'd been rescued at last, but she was finally dying.

Phebus' despair slammed into her like a Wraith stunner.

Her mouth opened but words failed her. John's lips suddenly demanded her attention. She wasn't one to let the physical outweigh her mind, but her mind was only thinking about him. Maybe it was Phebus who pushed her over the edge, but Elizabeth was sure she was in control when she kissed him.

Elizabeth was gentle, painfully careful not to aggravate the damaged skin as she released his lips. "I can't tell if these thoughts-" she corrected herself and tried not to get lost in his eyes. "-desires, are mine or hers."

The lines on John's face danced before they became part of his smile. "It's okay," he forgave her as he kissed the soft skin just beneath her nose. "They started it."

"I want to finish it," Elizabeth announced suddenly startling herself with her vigor. Her hand slid down his stomach and beneath the sheet. It rested on his belly as she felt him breath. "I want you."

The words were almost too small to be heard, but his eyebrows shot up in surprise. Elizabeth rolled into him and her leg felt him stir as she brushed past. Her fingers slid up his chest and settled in the hair on his head. Mussing it playfully, she giggled when it returned to its original state.

John looked up at his hair and then down towards the flimsy sheet covering their legs. "Don't make me explain why that's a turn on," he teased as he found her breast with his hand and shyly cupped it. When she bit her lip and stared down at his hand, it was his turn to chuckle. He bounced it once and rolled his eyes upward, as if he couldn't believe his luck. "Next time I want to undress you."

"Next time?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and sat up slightly to glare at him.

"Trust me," John began confidently. "Pilot's only get better once they know the route."

"Better?" she retorted staring at the hand that hadn't left her breast. "Or more arrogant?"

"Wanna find out?" John licked his lips lazily and traced his thumb in a slow arc along the skin of her breast.

No matter how icy she kept her gaze, Elizabeth's body welcomed his touch. Her skin begged for him to continue and the soreness Thalen had left within her was starting to be replaced by a new kind of pain.

Why had it been so long since she'd had sex? Elizabeth wondered as John's hand wandered to the other breast and his mouth took over. His tongue touched her nipple and she shivered in surprise. Swallowing the gasp in her throat, she dug her fingers into his hair.

John licked his way down to her stomach. Kissing a welt from his fingers on her ribs, he grinned and rested his chin just above her belly button. He lifted one of her legs, bending it back towards her stomach. He planted his lips just inside of her knee and started his way down.

For a moment, Elizabeth thought about stopping him. She could drag him back up and away from the skin of her inner thigh, but her body was aching for him to continue. He slid down the bed and took her other leg in hand. His hands were rough against her skin, but the softness of his mouth made up for it.

When she squirmed, John laughed and slowed down even more. "Haven't you ever needed to buy time in a negotiation?" he purred as he contemplated his goal.

"This isn't--" she started and ended abruptly when his tongue sent a wave of heat up from her clit. "Bastard," Elizabeth moaned as she tightened her grip in the sheets. There was heat building inside her head and that fire was driving back her headache.

John's fingers were dry when they slipped inside her, and she was still sensitive enough that even one of them was painful for a moment. He moved his mouth and she forgot all about pain. Her skin was tingling, begging to be pressed against him as she rocked against the bed. He sucked harder when she moaned and his hands dug into her hips when she tried to pull away.

She should have had more control. She shouldn't have screamed like she was back in university making do on one of the tiny dorm beds.

Fuck it.

John held her down until she jolted out of his reach. Her head was pounding and her skin was so alive it felt like she was sliding out of it. Panting and trying to get her eyes to focus, Elizabeth watched as he crawled his way up her. He wiped his mouth on his hand and grinned as she clung to his shoulders. He knew he was good. He'd heard her and felt her quake beneath him.

He brushed against her thigh and smirked proudly when Elizabeth realized listening to her had been enough for him. She'd let go and when he kissed her there was an astonishing tenderness to it. His pilot's charm was gone; the lips on hers were honest and searching. He wanted to taste her mouth, know how her teeth curved and feel her tongue against his.

John was patient as he turned his attention to her neck. Elizabeth bent her knee back and felt his stomach graze her. He was ready against her thigh, but he was engrossed in her shoulders. Parting her legs, Elizabeth gasped when he teased her with his thumb. Her clit protested and sent a shock through her back. Her teeth on his neck made he chuckle again as he lifted her chin to kiss her.

He was right. Once he knew the way, he was free to play with his route. instead of searching her, he played her like an updraft in the clouds. His tongue fought through her guard and had her moaning into his mouth. Elizabeth dug her strong fingers into the muscles of his lower back and pulled him down. He tested her first with his hand before he slipped within her.

Her head flew back and he ate her neck. Elizabeth shoved up against him as he pushed her legs back. Once in, John took his time. Thalen rushed and pounded, but John had a pilot's finesse. He waited and listened to her breathing. When she sobbed into his neck, he slowed his rhythm until she was lifting her hips against him.

Elizabeth tried to feel him out; read the grunting of his breath and learn what he wanted. He liked her hands on his back. John clung to her and paused to nibble at her breast and she titled her hips away. Making him laugh as he fought his way back inside of her.

Growing more serious, he tilted them so he was deeper. He was staring right into her eyes, meeting her dead on as he held her. Pressured welled and she was gasping into his chest. John was still moving inside her when she broke shuddering in his arms. Elizabeth dug nails into his back and held tight. He stopped, holding her chin and meeting her eyes before he slackened within her.

Elizabeth didn't know what terrified her so in his eyes, and Phebus took the opportunity to make it abundantly clear. that revelation nearly sent her shaking again, and she held tighter to him as he straightened wet hair on her neck. John kissed his way up to her lips and smiled softly as he started to detach from her. Her legs were wet and slippery as he settled her into the bed.

He maneuvered to be beneath her again and shifted her head to his chest. John's hand ran slowly up and down her back and he smiled at the ceiling. Her legs were still trembling and he helped her lift the sheet and the blanket over their bodies. Elizabeth kept her hand on his arm and realized she loathed the idea of letting go. She spooned against him and felt his breathing slow down.

"First time in this galaxy," Elizabeth admitted softly as she stared at her pile of work on the couch in her quarters. "When I was me anyway."

John's fingers moved in her hair and he sighed blissfully. "First time I was with anyone with a doctorate," he offered back with a hint of sarcasm. "That I knew of anyway."

"As long as that didn't intimidate you," Elizabeth teased back sardonically as she hid a yawn with her hand.

"Still in there huh?" John asked as he touched the worried lines on her forehead.

"She's a scientist and a soldier," she explained as she let him run his fingers around her temples. "Neither of them know how to give up."

"I'll be here," he promised as he watched her eyes flutter shut.

"How do you know I want you to stay?" Elizabeth mused as she forced her eyes open.

"Sometimes with you I just know," John insisted as he squeezed her a little tighter. "Something about you made me flip my coin twice." He admitted to the ceiling as he ran his fingers lazily across the damp skin of her back. "Not that I'd ever admit that to Rodney. Think Teyla might have figured it out."

"Do you always talk when you're nervous?" Elizabeth asked sleepily trying not to forget than there was still an alien in the back of her mind.

"Sometimes I just smile like I know everything," he murmured and kissed her forehead. "Or try to piss someone off."

Looking at her quarters over the skin of his chest, Elizabeth realized it had been years since she'd laid there and tried not to fall asleep. Most of the time her demons came rushing up in the darkness, but tonight nothing wanted to keep sleep out of her mind.

John's breath was soft in her ear and she let her eyes close heavily. She could definitely learn to like it.


End file.
